2017 Awesome Again Stakes Cheat Sheet

Programa Sintetizado del 2017 Awesome Again Stakes

Horse of the Year California Chrome won the 2016 Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita prior to racing in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, where he finished second. (Eclipse Sportswire)

Opening weekend of Santa Anita Park’s autumn meet brings a slew of Grade 1 stakes and Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series races. Chief among them is Saturday’s $300,000 Awesome Again Stakes, awarding the winner a place in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 4 at Del Mar. The Awesome Again, named for the 1998 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, regularly supplies that race with top contenders, including last year’s runner-up California Chrome and 2013 winner Mucho Macho Man.

This year’s Awesome Again has attracted a competitive field of eight, including five millionaires and five graded stakes winners. Tune in to TVG to watch live at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, and get ready for the race with details on all eight contenders below.

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Win the Space was third in the 2016 Awesome Again but was then eased in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, not racing again until last month when he finished fifth of five in the Harry F. Brubaker Stakes behind Cupid and Curlin Rules. As that was his first race off a long layoff, there is certainly room for improvement and he did finish in the top three in last year’s Gold Cup at Santa Anita and San Diego Handicap. A win would be the first in the race for trainer George Papaprodromou and owner Kretz Racing.

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Dortmund made his name on the 2015 Triple Crown trail, where he finished third to American Pharoah in the Kentucky Derby after previously being undefeated in six career starts. He had another pair of wins after a brief layoff but hasn’t been quite the same since returning from an eight-month vacation in July 2016, with his best effort a runner-up behind California Chrome in last year’s Awesome Again. Previously trained by Bob Baffert, Dortmund has raced twice this year for trainer Art Sherman and was briefly retired before returning to training in July. The Awesome Again will be his first race since April 1.

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Midnight Storm was a turf specialist, winning multiple graded stakes on the grass, before making a successful transition to dirt in late 2016 with wins in the Native Diver Stakes and the San Pasqual Stakes. He is winless since the San Pasqual in January, though he finished second in the Santa Anita Handicap and third in the Oaklawn Handicap. He is the oldest and most experienced horse in the field, with 25 starts under his belt at age 6.

Notable achievements and interesting facts: The Awesome Again will be Curlin Rules’ first attempt in a Grade 1 race and second graded stakes overall. He most recently finished a close second to Cupid in the Harry F. Brubaker Stakes at Del Mar on Aug. 23, but until then competed mostly in allowance races. Curlin Rules is trained by John Sadler and owned by Hronis Racing, the same connections as leading Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff contender Stellar Wind.

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Ontario-bred Breaking Lucky won the 2015 Prince of Wales Stakes, the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, and has raced exclusively in stakes since. Though he has just one graded stakes win, he’s finished in the money in eight graded stakes and most recently finished third to Gun Runner in both the Whitney Stakes and the Stephen Foster Handicap.

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Mubtaahij is owned bySheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Maktoum of Dubai and won the 2015 United Arab Emirates Derby there before shipping stateside to contest the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes for trainer Mike de Kock. Since then he has raced in both the U.S. and Dubai, finishing second to California Chrome in the 2016 Dubai World Cup and fourth behind Arrogate in this year’s edition before joining the barn of trainer Bob Baffert in California. His recent training impressed Baffert enough to enter this race, though it was reportedly not in the initial plan.

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Donworth made an appearance on the 2015 Triple Crown trail when running second in the Coolmore Lexington Stakes. He won the Stanton Stakes at Delaware Park that year and was later sold for $550,000 to Paul Reddam. Donworth has seen limited racing action in the nearly two years that Reddam has owned him but does have two third-place efforts and a runner-up finish in graded stakes from six starts in that time. Reddam, trainer Doug O’Neill, and jockey Mario Gutierrez partnered to win the 2012 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands and Preakness Stakes with I’ll Have Another, and then took the 2016 Kentucky Derby with Nyquist.

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Cupid won the Gold Cup at Santa Anita in May, winning his first Grade 1 race in his first contest of 2017. In 2016, he won three Grade 2 stakes before a disappointing Pennsylvania Derby led to him being shelved for eight months. Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, Cupid is owned by the Coolmore associates of Ireland who paid $900,000 for him as a yearling. Coolmore has purchased three of his siblings at auction as well, including a sale-topping $2.7-million full sister bought this month at Keeneland.